Instagram Stories vs. Snapchat Stories: Good or Bad for Bloggers?

Instagram Stories looks exactly like Snapchat Stories, maybe even better actually. And bloggers/influencers are having mixed emotions about it. From single still images to a stream of photos that expire after 24 hours, the change is a big leap for Instagram that can significantly affect business and reach for social media marketers – leaving them torn between Snapchat and Instagram. We went ahead and did a little discussion amongst this targeted crowd and here is what bloggers feel about this new situation…

Amongst a few bloggers who have never been big on snapchat is Patti Reddi of The Savvy Globetrotter who honestly said, “Not a fan of Instagram copying Snapchat at all. I have avoided Snapchat as I have no desire to make clips of myself or waste my time looking at boring snaps of others. I liked Instagram because I like looking and sharing photos of travel destinations.”

But another non-fan of Snapchat Karon Warren of ThisGirlTravels is trying to look at the change in a positive light as she said, “I have avoided Snapchat because I didn’t want yet another social account to monitor, so this change on IG could be good for me because I can do the quick, live videos without having to log in to a different network. We’ll see.”

There is no doubt that Instagram’s well curated focussed feature of sharing only pictures is totally disrupted with the new stories. But effectively Insta has also tried to keep its layout as clean as before with less confusion. The new stories only appear on a separate bar at top of the newsfeed and each icon represents a new recent story published from your favorite popular accounts.

On second thoughts, integrating two popular features in a single platform might actually be a successful strategy by Instagram as Alana Margaret Gidycz of bunnyinseoul surely got her mind changing, as she said, “I was really against it at first because I like how clean and curated Instagram is but then I started thinking about how much more engagement I have on Insta than snapchat and maybe it does make sense to be targeting the larger audience I already have there? This Ad Age article also makes some really good points.”

Amid bloggers who have started using the feature we have both a very excited lot and a not so happy few too. Sofie Couwenbergh of Wonderful Wanderings said, “For me, it’s just another thing I have to do. I liked Instagram because it was straightforward: put pictures up, engage with other pictures. Clear. Done. Now they want more of me, and something more complicated – #socialmediatiredness.“

But Kelly Hogan of A pair of Passports instantly reacted, “I’m a fan! We are just starting out (our blog has been live for a month and a half), so growing a fan base on multiple platforms is tough. I already had Snapchat and used it to connect with my friends and wasn’t sure if I wanted to use it for blogging as well. Now I don’t have to! I also have an IG account for my dog, so feel like it’s like having multiple Snapchat accounts, which Snapchat doesn’t easily allow, to post in the moment shots and behind the scenes stuff!”

Amy Hartle of Two Drifters like many other bloggers actually love the fact that now bloggers can do two different things at the same platform. She said, “As someone who has a significant Instagram following but also enjoyed snapchat, I think this is the best of both worlds! Having too many apps stressed me out but this is much more streamlined and I’ve already gotten 10x the views!”

Jessica Doll of Hej Doll also mentioned, “From a bloggers standpoint, I love it. Now I don’t have to use another platform or grow another following on there. My snapchat growth was so slow to grow and after posting my first story on IG the views were 10x higher than snapchat. I think it will be way easier to show behind the scenes / real life type things instead of saying, ‘Hey if you want to follow along live, go to this completely other platform where you’ll have to refollow and find me again to see!‘”

But what we have to wait and watch out for particularly is which platform wins the audience engagement aspect more in the coming days and months. Ashlyn George of The Lost Girls Guideshared her thoughts, “I love Snapchat. But I can’t live post on Snapchat and Instagram at the same time so I guess I’ll wait and see what platform wins out? I also don’t like the Instagram set up to find who I want to watch. I follow too many people whereas in Snapchat I only follow who I want to watch. I also find it weird scrolling a newsfeed then a video feed separately. I wish I could do both at the same time.“

But having a completely differently take on the same issue, Anders Riise Koch of whatsupandersconcluded, “Personally I think this is a good move, as with snapchat people need to know who you are to discover you, whereas with Instagram you can easily discover new accounts through hashtags etc. I think this is a huge advantage for building an engaged audience.”

We would love to hear your thoughts on the same! Join us in this conversation and let us know what do you think about this move? Loving it or hating it? – Please share with us in the comments below.

8Comments

Interesting article. I’ll have to confess that I am not a great fan of Instagram, although it’s a great platform. I was always more active on Pintrest and Trover and my Instagram account got sort of neglected. However, after reading your post, I’m thinking there must be something to this new feature and perhaps I should try it.

I only use Snapchat every once in awhile, mostly because I hate having yet another program to open up (especially one like Snapchat where you can’t scroll through quickly). So, I’m a fan of Instagram stories if only because it keeps it in one place. I’m not sure I’ll personally use it much either way, but I’ll definitely use it at least that tiny bit more now.

I have not done any IG stories yet but I also tried to avoid Snapchat because it seems to complicated and I could not do well on all social media platforms. Now, this seems like a better solution because I have quite a hight amount of followers on IG and it will be easier for me. I watch some stories from others but I am sometimes surprised to see what kind of other stuff people post – not every single fart has to be posted I think.

I don’t like that they ripped Snapchat and I also don’t care for how it is set up. They have some things to work out on that. On the other hand you can monitor a lot more on IG stories and seeing as many people already have a following on IG it has a pro right there.

I am not a big fan of snapchat. At first, I was annoyed the ig was adding live videos, but I do like the layout and the fact that I don’t have to switch over to snapchat for it. As far as finding accounts I’m interested in following, ig is easier. I also have a larger ig audience than snapchat.

I never downloaded Snapchat because I just didn’t understand the point or appeal. When I saw something similar pop up on IG, I groaned. I don’t think I will post a story of my own, but I’m really enjoying watching other people’s stories! The new feature might not be for everyone, but I think it’s a fun way to show more of the account owner’s personality and encourage them to follow along, rather than passively like a single photo and move along. We shall see!

Honestly, till now I am hating it. I follow people and bloggers who are posting videos of their bus rides, sunsets and unfinished food to show their journey. Honestly I don’t find any fun to see that, and I thought single pics – people invest more of their creativity and time to put up something that’s beautiful and worth seeing in a picture. I might be wrong and following some really bad accounts, so I really need to find someone who makes sense on both snapchat and insta stories.

About StreetTrotter:

StreetTrotter is a Travel & Fashion blog, inspiring people everyday with real stories to look good and travel even better. Founded in 2012 by Shraddha Gupta, Founder & COO, this space is all about experiencing new things in life, be it a daring mountain trek, a frugal backpacking trip, a runway look made local, or simply anything that scares you enough to live a little more deeper.

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SHRADDHA GUPTA, FOUNDER AND EDITOR: A fashion and business journalist by profession and a passionate traveler at all times – not working. A believer, a creative thinker, blogger, writer, foodie and social media addict.

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